Hey gang,
Here is the poster for my upcoming gig at the Fine Line Music Cafe in Minneapolis. Looking forward to seeing you all there.
– Grant Dawson
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The day that Les Paul died I sent a note out to a few musician friends of mine, asking them to offer up their thoughts on the guitar legend. Whoever responded most completely was promised heavy print space on my blog. Minnesota’s own Bernie King won the prize going away.
Enjoy these words by Mr. King:
I just returned from a week in the Arkansas Ozarks and while there had taken special care to avoid news from the outside world. When I did check in I was saddened to read an email from Grant about the passing of guitar master Lester William Polsfuss, better known as Les Paul.
Many mistakenly identify Les as the creator of the solid body electric guitar and others correctly credit Les for being the innovator of some of the most significant recording techniques, but for me the most interesting thing about Les Paul was his commitment to being a guitar player. When he suffered a shattered elbow in an automobile accident in 1948 he instructed doctors to set his now inflexible elbow in such a fashion that it would allow him to cradle and pick a guitar.
To be honest the considerable playing talents of Les are mostly lost on me — I found his style to be a bit too garish for my hillbilly sensibilities. In fact, I recall that after hearing Mary Ford’s vocals on “How High the Moon,” I told a friend the song would have been much improved if the show-boating guitar player could have demonstrated a modicum of restraint. Come to think of it, I still stand by that statement today.
But Les did have a fire to push boundaries and while he did not develop the original Gibson Les Paul Standard guitar alone (that design was also the work of Ted McCarty), he did push Gibson to deliver the best guitar of the day. It is in that guitar where my fondest memories of Les Paul are found. For some reason Les Pauls used in combination with a variety of amplifier choices seem to be at the root of the electric guitar sounds I love the most. Whether it is the grunged out grind of Neil Young’s “Keep on Rockin’ in the Free World”, the Sex Pistols’ Steve Jones ripsaw attack on “God Save the Queen”, or Keith Richards slashing his way through “Tumblin’ Dice” there has been a Les Paul inspired instrument right there in the heart of it all. And for those contributions alone Les Paul will out live us all. And he should.
Thanks, Bernie.
For those unfamiliar with Bernie’s considerable musical talents, you can check him out on the web by visiting his myspace page.
In addition to Bernie’s comments, here is a link to a wonderful photo slide show memorializing Les Paul that Time.com put together.
–Grant Dawson
Tags: bernie king, les paul, musician
I want to officially announce the details for an upcoming show at the Fine Line Music Cafe in Minneapolis:
Jake Armerding and I will be headlining a show on September 22nd. The doors open at 7:00pm. The Music starts at 7:30pm. The cost is five dollars.
For those of you unfamiliar with Jake and his music, here’s a brief bit of background. Jake is a Boston man, who writes wonderful songs in the new-folk tradition (is that an oxymoron?). He plays the guitar, the fiddle and the mandolin. He just released an excellent new album, entitled “Her”. If you’d like to find out more about him, or listen to his songs, you can visit his website at jakearmerding.com.
The show should be awesome. You can purchase your tickets at the door.
I hope you’re all well.
Grant Dawson
Tags: fine line music cafe, grant dawson, guitar, jake armerding, minneapolis, minnesota, mn, piano, september 22, show
Yesterday I was shopping at one of the giant American superstores for a few frivolous items (whiffle balls, a bike basket). While I was there, casually browsing an aisle in the sporting good section, I heard a woman next to me begin screaming at her child.
“That is it! You’re not going to get a Goddamn thing from this store! You’re not going to get SHIT from here, you worthless little shit!”
That was the most printable sentence in her tirade. She had her little boy, who was around four years old, by the arm and was shaking him like a can of spray paint. He was crying, but pretty quiet. She let him have it for a good minute. There was a moment where I thought I should intervene, but I didn’t of course, I mean, it’s not any of my business, and so I just slipped out of the aisle and made my way to the checkout counter.
Later in the evening I played a house-party in Minneapolis — a wonderful private event where 20-30 twenty-somethings got together to actively listen to an eclectic line-up of musicians. Will Tolle, Hotel San Sebastian, myself, Zoo Animal, the Fontanelles. It couldn’t have been cooler. The sound was good, the people were engaged, the atmosphere was intimate, the host, a burly and hirsute man named Gabe (how could he be named anything else?), was full of energy and ideas on how to have fun. There was a cakewalk mid-party. There was a meat raffle. We played music deep into the night.
When I finally left at close to 3AM, I could see that a rain had come through and wet the streets. As I was loading my car I started to think about the little kid from earlier in my day. I wondered what his night had been like. Had he heard music? I closed my trunk. I looked at the moon.
Maybe I should have intervened. Maybe we are all one human family. I should have asked the mother if there was something I could do to help calm her down. Her anger certainly didn’t come in the moment, the anger she was expressing came from another, larger, darker place. Who knows what her circumstances are? What is my responsibility, our responsibility, to the broader reaches of humanity? What do we do when we’re confronted with a specific instance of one human damaging another?
I’d like to know your thoughts… do you intervene, or do you do as I did, and head for the checkout counter?
Comments, please.
–Grant Dawson
Tags: grant dawson
